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Friday, May 20, 2005

THE BATMAN'S "RIDDLED"

The Riddler makes his debut in Kids' WB!'s The Batman in this Saturday's episode, "Riddled."

The Batman producer Jeff Matsuda told The Continuum he wanted to give "a fairly fresh take on the character" in the series' version of the Riddler.

"Our version of the Riddler started by basically breaking down what he's about...riddles," Matsuda told The Continuum. "I know that when you think of the Riddler, you think of green suit with question marks, but we didn't want to use that just cause it's what we're used to.

"In our world he's a mixture of Marilyn Manson and Bill Gates. Looks like a glam rocker but is a cunning computer nerd with a penchant for riddles on the inside."

Matsuda noted that all of the minions are based on members of The Batman's creative crew, ranging from the color department to the storyboards.

"Riddled" was written by Christopher Yost and J.D. Murray and was directed by Sam Liu.

Here's how the episode is described:

"Batman's and Detective Yin's secret alliance is put at risk when they must work together to solve a string of riddles which have been scattered throughout Gotham, fearing that Riddler will make good on his threat to destroy the city."

In addition to The Batman, Yost has also written for X-Men: Evolution and co-wrote the X-23 comics mini-series with Craig Kyle. He said he understood Riddler's importance among Batman's villains in writing the episode.

"It was a blast, and intimidating as it was fun," said Yost. "Riddler is fun because he's so sinisterly smart -- but hard for the same reasons. And of course he's one of the big Batman villains -- I really wanted to do him justice in his introductory episode, and at the same time keep it fun and action-packed.

"So we put in lots of bombs and ticking clocks. That generally keeps things moving between riddles. But that being said, it was nice to move on to a less cerebral villain or two afterwards."

The Riddler is voiced by Robert Englund.

Click on the thumbnails for larger images from "Riddled" and look for more on The Batman soon here in The Continuum.

TOPHER GRACE CAST IN SPIDER-MAN 3

Topher Grace has joined the cast of Spider-Man 3, it was announced by director Sam Raimi and producers Laura Ziskin and Marvel Studios' Avi Arad.

Grace, 26, will join Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco and Thomas Haden Church in the cast.

Columbia Pictures has not revealed what roles Grace and Church are playing.

"I couldn't be more excited about the direction we are taking the continuing adventures of Peter Parker," Raimi said. "Topher Grace is an extraordinarily talented actor and will be perfect for the complexities of the role we are developing."

Spider-Man 3 is scheduled for release on May 4, 2007. Production is expected to begin early next year.

Grace has starred in Fox's That '70s Show for the last seven years, is transitioning from the small screen to the big screen. His film roles include In Good Company, P.S., Traffic, Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve, Win a Date With tad Hamilton and Mona Lisa Smile.

SPIDER-MAN, X-MEN VIDEOGAMES

Activision has provided The Continuum with a first look at two of its upcoming videogames releases based on Marvel Comics characters: Ultimate Spider-Man and X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse.

Here's how Activision describes the games:

Ultimate Spider-Man

Take on the role of the world╣s most famous Super Hero, Marvel╣s Spider-Man, and one of his most menacing nemeses, Venom, in an original storyline written and illustrated by the creative team behind the best-selling Ultimate Spider-Man▓ comic book series. Set in a massive free-roaming environment, the game delivers the deepest Spider-Man adventure with a variety of challenging missions, diverse gameplay and a new combat system that allows players to face off against the largest number of villains from the Spider-Man universe ever assembled in one video game. With gameplay that unfolds through interactive comic book panels, players are seamlessly integrated into the game via simultaneous multiple visual perspectives. Ultimate Spider-Man is being developed by Treyarch for the console systems, Vicarious Visions for the handheld platform and Beenox Studios for the PC. The game has not yet been rated by the ESRB. Handheld platform gameplay differs from PC and console systems gameplay. (PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Windows PC).

X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse

The sequel to the best-selling X-Men title ever, X-Men Legends, X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse is an all new action-RPG that lets players create, customize and control teams of four mutants from 16 all-time favorite X-Men and classic Brotherhood villains from the Marvel Universe. With the X-Men and Brotherhood fighting side by side for the first time, players switch instantly between teammates wielding many more super powers and skills than X-Men Legends, as they overcome obstacles, solve puzzles and defeat more than 100 types of enemies including Lady Deathstrike and the notorious Four Horsemen of Apocalypse. Delivering significant gameplay enhancements over the first title, X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse challenges players to explore immense, destructible environments set in classic X-Men locations like Genosha and the Infinite Factory, and exotic worldly locales like Egypt and the South Pole in both single player and, for the first time ever, online multiplayer modes. X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse is being developed by Raven Software for the console systems, Vicarious Visions for the handheld platform and Beenox Studios for the PC, and has not yet been rated by the ESRB. Handheld platform gameplay differs from console systems and PC platform gameplay. (PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, PlayStation« Portable, Windows PC).

MARVEL COMICS' GRAVITY

"This is easily the most excited I've ever been about something I've written," writer Sean McKeever said of the new Marvel Comics mini-series Gravity.

The five-issue mini-series, with art by Mike Norton, begins on June 8.

"It's just so refreshing to see Marvel Manhattan through a new pair of eyes and to delve into that classic Marvel mix of super hero action and personal drama," McKeever said. "And, to me, Mike's art just really screams îMarvel!╣ at the top of its lungs."

"This book has been a dream come true," Norton said. "It's been great to work on something that has all the elements of why I got into comics in the first place."

Here╣s how Marvel describes the book:

│McKeever and Norton, the creative team responsible for the acclaimed Indie drama, The Waiting Place, introduce the next great Marvel Next hero...NYC college freshman Greg Willis, aka Gravity! He╣s made his way through high school and moved out of his parents' house -- finally ready to get a job, pick a major, and meet the girl of his dreams...and also realize his dream of becoming a big-city super hero! But will the realities of city life, college and saving the day prove to be too much for him?"